60 miles!

April 29, 2006. Went for a 60 mile ride with Joe on a route he planned. It was nice and flat with strong headwinds both ways. I drafted Joe nearly the entire time so that wasn't so bad. We meandered through Schenectady to Scotia then headed straight out on 5S. Just past route 30 we turned off onto Florida road, battled traffic through Amsterdam and took 5 to hilly but quiet roads that ran us along the path of route 67. None of the hills were terribly bad, but I was definitely feeling it on the climbs. About 45 miles in I got cramps in my right leg and left hip. I was totally out of drink and needed to use nearly a whole bottle of Joe's. With some liquid and stretching I felt a lot better, but never felt confident in putting the hammer down. I could feel the cramps just waiting to come back and get me. It was a good day and made me feel better about riding, though I am obviously not in great condition. Hopefully I will ride more this week and begin to get some back.